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The management of the Novy Region portal announced on Wednesday, January 1st, that the website will no longer work in Transnistria, as it did not receive accreditation for 2014 from the self-proclaimed authorities of the territory.
Earlier this the week, Transnistrian mass media were writing that local prosecutors initiated a series of checks in the media outlets of the territory regarding observance of the legislation, especially concerning finances. The assistant prosecutor for special missions Smbat Alikhanyan has recently had a meeting with the representatives of Novy Region and asked them about the working conditions of journalists and about the availability of documents confirming the outlet’s registration with the self-proclaimed authorities of the region.
Political analyst Roman Konoplyov wrote in an opinion article on Dniestr.ru that problems came from the portal’s political sponsors. When the publication was created, the website’s editorial policy favored the Obnovlenie party, whose leader at the time was Yevgeny Shevchuk. Subsequently, the editorial policy turned against Shevchuk, and the portal became a platform for opposition. According to Konoplyov, the portal’s activity had been blocked in order to deprive opposition of freedom of expression.
At the same time, the political analyst drew attention to the friendship between Yevgeny Shevchuk and Dmitry Rogozin, the special representative of the Russian president in Transnistria, which would allow the Transnistrian leader to settle the accounts with the opposition. Also, Konoplyov wrote that authorities will continue such actions. “Time will come for other persons from the same political camp as Novy Region: Buchyatsky, Safonov, Leonov, bloggers,” Konoplyov said.
After the activity of Novy Region was ceased, Andrei Safonov, the chairman of the Association of Independent Political Analysts of Transnistria, came with the initiative of creating a public committee for protection of press freedom. The goal of the committee, according to Safonov, would be to protect not only mass media, but also the right of citizens to be informed. Safonov also said that the closure of Novy Region is representative for the state of press freedom in Transnistria.
About two weeks earlier, Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk said at a press conference that one of the priorities of the unrecognized Transnistrian authorities is to identify the financial sources of Transnistrian mass media.
Novy Region worked in Transnistria since March 2006 and is the property of News Agency NR2 NEW RUSSIA L.P., registered in Scotland, which has representative offices in several countries of the world.
